A Question of Time
by Draco the Lizard
Summary: After they leave Medenham, Ella, Leon and Thelma decide that the best way to finally destroy Malachi is to travel in time once again.


The first few days after fleeing from Medenham they had been worried about Ella's injuries, but once she was ready to fight, they all realised that they needed a plan first.

"We still have the knife," Thelma said. "And that stone for time-travelling."

"Because that worked so well last time," Leon replied. "We need something better."

"No, we just need a better moment," Ella said, already thinking of a good one. "Our mistake was that I went to a time I didn't know enough about. That's why it went wrong."

"So? What're you suggesting?" Thelma asked. She still hadn't ditched the fake halo and the angel wings, claiming that you never knew when it might come in handy again. "Go back further in time to stop Cassie and Azazeal from having sex in the first place?"

"Tempting," Ella admitted, "but no. I wasn't there, and I need to go to a time where I'm sure there won't be any sudden traps."

"Well?" Leon asked expectantly. "You already know, don't you?"

Ella nodded. "I need to kill Alex, the night that you didn't."

That was still a sore spot for Leon, both the fact that his failure had led to Malachi's survival, and that his later attempt to prove himself equal had almost led to Ella's death. "You'd be in two places at the same time," he said quietly.

"Can't we go back to a time where Maya's not dead?" Thelma asked. "I mean, if we're going to make things right and all."

"Thelma, if this works, you'll disappear," Ella told her, with a sad smile. "It won't matter."

"Yeah, so you might want to get rid of the halo and wings," Leon said, smirking. "Unless you want to go like that."

"You're probably right," Thelma said, pulling at the wings. "But I like them. And who knows, maybe God has an amazing sense of humour."

"Don't count on it," Ella said. "So, are we agreed?"

Thelma and Leon exchanged glances. "You'll have to be careful," Thelma said. "What if your past self sees yourself? Won't the universe explode?"

The Book of Orokiah hadn't mentioned that specifically, but it had mentioned being careful. "I'll just have to go straight to Alex' room," Ella replied. "I went straight to Malachi's room when I came back, that's not even near Alex'."

"And what about me?" Leon asked. "The past me? Won't he be surprised if you pop out of nowhere?"

"Probably," Ella said. "I'll say I hurried and wanted to check on you, and I'll appear in the hallway."

"What'll happen if you succeed?" Leon asked. "Apart from Malachi being finally dead, I mean. What'll happen to us?"

"I don't know," Ella replied. "Obviously there aren't any records of. I expect we'll just… disappear."

"At least we'll know if you've succeeded," Thelma said cheerfully. "Maybe it's just like going to sleep, except without dreams."

Ella nodded. "Let's assume that, or we'll drive ourselves crazy speculating."

"So, are you going to do it now?" Leon asked, looking nervous.

"No point putting it off," Ella replied, determined. Leon quickly leaned over to kiss her.

"Might be the last chance I get," he mumbled when he saw her surprise. "For good luck."

"Just go," Thelma told her. "This might be the only way of fixing everything."

And Ella went.

***

She arrived where and when she had wanted, outside of Alex' room, around the time Leon would text her he was ready. She quietly opened the door, and saw Leon standing in the dark, the light from his mobile illuminating his face, and the axe glinting in his hand. She snuck in, and closed the door behind her.

As expected, he was surprised to see her. "What're you doing here? We were supposed to do this at the same time. I just texted you," he whispered as she moved closer.

"I'm sorry, Leon," Ella whispered back. "I didn't know if you really had it in you, so I wanted to check."

Leon looked angry for a moment, but then nodded. "You were right." He handed her the axe. "So, you'll do it?"

Ella nodded, taking the axe. "It's okay," she told him, and brought down the axe with all her strength, not stopping until Alex' head was separated from her body. Leon stared at the mess.

"People'll get suspicious," he said, still whispering.

"Which is why you need to get out of here," Ella replied quietly. "Things will be all right, no one will suspect we did it."

"I can help you clean things up," Leon offered. "We'll pretend she just disappeared, ran away. If there's no body, they won't suspect a murder."

Ella shook her head. "Trust me, Leon, it's best if you go. Go straight to your room, get to bed, go to sleep." She didn't need the risk of him running into her past self.

Leon looked like he was going to argue for a moment. "I can help you kill Malachi," he said.

"No," she said, more forceful than she intended. "I have to do it. It's my destiny, and I intend to fulfil it. Please, Leon. Go."

He eventually sighed, and nodded. "Fine. I'm just trying to help."

"You are, Leon. You are," Ella insisted. She couldn't tell him exactly how much he had helped her since this whole thing started. She wouldn't even be here if it weren't for him, but he didn't and couldn't know that. "And once this is over, you can help me lead a normal life."

He looked up at that. "A normal life?"

Ella nodded, smiling. "A normal life for a normal teenager," she said. "Who loves her boyfriend very much."

Leon's face was a mix of surprise and sheer happiness. "You mean it?" he asked, and she couldn't blame him for not believing her immediately.

"Leon, promise me that no matter what I say tomorrow, you'll remember that I love you, okay?" Ella told him. She thought that her past self, once having dealt with Malachi, might want to try to run away from Medenham and from Leon. She didn't want that, and Leon had to make sure that didn't happen. "I might be very stubborn about it," she added. "Don't forget, I do love you."

Leon grinned, and nodded. "Yeah, all right. So, er, you off to kill Malachi now, then?"

"Yes. And you're off to bed, right?" Ella reminded him, and he nodded. He grinned as he left the room, and Ella looked at the corpse of Alex. If all went well, her past self would arrive any minute now to kill Malachi. Malachi would know by now that Maya and Alex were dead, but this time he wouldn't have the time and opportunity to get extra succubi. And she wouldn't have the time to dispose of Alex' corpse like Leon had suggested. She would have to hope her past self would be able to get away with this. She didn't want her normal life to start with a jail sentence, after all.

She sat on the foot of Alex' bed, and waited. She heard footsteps echoing up the stairs, and knew it was her past self, hurrying to kill Malachi, and had to fight herself not to run out and help. That would ruin everything. She couldn't do anything now but sit, and wait, and hope that this journey to the past would turn out better than her previous one.

***

The next morning, Leon's and Ella's celebration was very low-key and very quiet, as all other students were dealing with the news that Alex had been killed and Malachi disappeared. There were no explicit accusations that Malachi had killed her, but there were definite mutters that it all seemed very suspicious.

"Bit of luck that, isn't it?" Leon remarked to Ella. They were sitting away from the other students as best as they could to have their quiet conversation. "His body vanishing like that after the bloodbath you created."

Ella looked at him, surprised. "You mean you created, you dealt with Alex."

"No, you did. You came in right after I texted you, told me you weren't entirely sure if I could do it, and then you did it. And then you left to deal with Malachi," Leon explained quietly. He didn't understand why she had forgotten all that.

Ella frowned. "I went to Malachi immediately," she told him. "I never went to see you."

"So how come I saw you kill Alex?" Leon asked. "I know what I saw, Ella."

"I'm sure you do," she reassured him. "I just don't understand what happened."

"Well, we have plenty of time to think about it now that Malachi's gone," Leon said. "That's the most important bit."

Ella relaxed. "Yeah, I suppose you're right."

"You don't have any other destinies, do you?" Leon asked, only half-joking. "Any more antichrists you need to deal with?"

"No, just Malachi, and he's taken care of," Ella said, as she watched the police take away a few students for questioning. "I think I finally get to be a proper teenager."

"With a proper boyfriend?" Leon asked, looking at her intently.

"I don't know," Ella replied, unsure. "I don't know what it means to be normal, I don't know if I still have my powers, and if I still don't age. You should get a normal girlfriend, Leon. Not someone who's been around for hundreds of years."

"I don't want normal," Leon said, leaning closer. "I want you."

"Leon, I don't know if that's –"

"Why don't we try," Leon suggested, interrupting her. "We'll go out on dates, see how things go. Like normal teenagers."

Ella smiled, and took hold of his hand. "Normal," she said quietly. "I like the sound of that."


End file.
